What is Bluewashing?

We are increasingly relying on Artificial intelligence (AI) in decision-making processes that impact our daily lives and, thus, can determine access to essential services and influence social well-being. In response, supranational and international bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have established ethical guidelines and legislation to promote fairness and safety in AI development in the effort to protect society from the risks of unregulated AI and its misuse.

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This has amplified pressure on AI developers to prioritise responsible and ethical practices. At first glance, strictly adhering to high ethical standards may seem costly, complex, and appears to potentially hinder competitiveness in advancing AI systems. As a result, some companies may resort to bluewashing—projecting a false image of ethical responsibility for short term gains.

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In this article, we are having a closer look at how bluewashing works, why it is harmful, and strategies to disincentivise it.

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What is “Bluewashing”?

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You may already be familiar with greenwashing as a disingenuous marketing strategy falsely claiming a business’s procedures or products are environmentally conscious and sustainable. In the same vein, organisations and businesses developing or selling AI products can engage in…

bluewashing: The practice of making false or exaggerated claims, or taking superficial actions, to appear more ethically responsible in digital processes, products, or services than one actually is.

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What Forms can Bluewashing take?

Performative Initiatives

Bluewashing, as a marketing strategy, relies on performative initiatives to signal adherence to ethical principles. For example, organisations may establish ethics committees that lack authority or effectiveness or publish codes of conduct that are neither fully implemented nor officially certified. In such cases, resources are channelled into marketing efforts rather than into substantive investments, such as dedicated staff or infrastructure, to genuinely uphold ethical standards in the development and deployment of AI systems.

In his 2023 publication The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Luciano Floridi, director of the digital ethics centre at Yale University and advisory board member at oxethica, describes the following examples of performative practices that organisations may resort to bluewash their AI services:

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Ethics Shopping

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Companies may turn to ethics shopping: a deceitful marketing strategy involving selectively choosing, adapting, or revising ethical principles, guidelines, or frameworks from various sources to justify pre-existing behaviours, rather than implementing or improving practices aligned with public ethical standards.

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For example, rather than laying down ethical principles as the foundation of AI development and usage, a company may – as Luciano Floridi words it – “mix and match a list of ethical principles that one prefers, as if they were ice cream flavours”.

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Floridi explains that the lack of clear, authoritative guidance has created a "market of principles" where AI ethical frameworks overlap or merely differ in semantics, leading to inconsistent standards that hinder fair competition, evaluation, and accountability.This enables organisations to bluewash by selectively adopting convenient ethics without true commitment.

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Ethics Dumping

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Companies may also engage in bluewashing through ethics dumping, which involves exporting unethical research activities related to digital processes, products, or services to regions with lower ethical standards or weaker legal frameworks. The research outcomes are then imported back to the company’s country of origin to drive innovation and profit.

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This practice, long observed in industries like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food products also translates into the AI industry. With globally fragmented AI legislation, companies and organisations may respond to stricter regulations, such as the EU AI Act, by moving research to regions with more lenient ethical standards. In doing so, they exploit unequal power dynamics and systemic issues—such as disadvantaged populations, weak institutions, and corrupt regimes—that are rooted in historical colonial legacies within the global economy.

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Lack of Transparency and Accountability

Organisations that engage in ethically questionable practices such as ethics shopping or ethics dumping to bluewash their products and services inevitably disregard principles like AI transparency and accountability—both of which are fundamental to building responsible and trustworthy AI. The following examples are thus potential warning signs for bluewashing:

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• withholding documentation about algorithms
• evading responsibility for harms caused by AI systems
• deflecting blame

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A Hidden Risk

Bluewashing can also be a pitfall for companies that genuinely intend to act responsibly and to develop ethical principles but fail to implement and follow through with those principles effectively. While AI stakeholders continue to define best practices for development, governance, regulation and ethics, companies may inadvertently appear to engage in bluewashing in the midst of a dynamic discourse.

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What are the Consequences of Bluewashing?

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Consequences for the Organisation

Once exposed, bluewashing can severely tarnish an organisation’s reputation and may also lead to liability risks, especially with emerging global AI regulations like the EU AI Act, which demand high ethical standards. Companies may lose investors, customers, and industry partners due to a loss of credibility and trust negatively impacting revenue and opportunities for growth and innovation. Hence, the short-term benefits of bluewashing do not outweigh the long-term harms that may be detrimental to a business.

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Consequences for Society

Similarly to greenwashing, bluewashing has serious implications for society, aggravating social issues in the pursuit of profit or dominance in the AI race. Bluewashing AI products and services enables AI misuse, potentially causing irreversible harm to human rights, data privacy, information integrity, and democratic stability. For instance, unethical practices like ethics dumping exacerbate global economic and social inequalities, perpetuating systemic poverty, wage suppression, and low ethical standards.

Consequences for the AI Industry

Neglecting ethics throughout the AI lifecycle can have significant consequences for the entire industry.

• Unethical practices foster unfair competition, pushing companies to adopt questionable tactics to remain competitive.
• Such practices risk tarnishing the reputation of the entire AI sector, leading to societal backlash, and resulting government and legal intervention that could stifle meaningful and responsible innovation toward developing and deploying AI that benefits society.

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What can be done to Disincentivise Bluewashing?

Global Convergence of Ethical Standards and Regulation

A consistent and widely agreed-upon framework of ethical principles and regulation cultivates an environment of trust and reliability for users, developers, and other industry stakeholders alike. Such standardisation sets clear benchmarks for ethical commitments, ensures a minimum threshold for ethical practices, and promotes fair competition based on transparency and accountability.

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Examples:

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• Comprehensive ethical standards issued by international organisations such as the UN and OECD establish standardised guidelines for digital ethics, binding at least their member states to these principles.
• Regulations make unethical practices such as digital ethics bluewashing a liability risk, enabling the prosecution of ethical violations.
• In the future, the implementation of a certification system may increase the visibility of bluewashing and make it as disreputable as greenwashing or ethical violations in medicine.  

Transparency and Accountability

Fostering a culture of transparency and accountability within the AI industry can discourage bluewashing.

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Examples:

• Companies aiming to demonstrate their commitment to ethical integrity could adopt public, evidence-based transparency, showcasing good practices and the tangible application of their stated ethical AI values throughout the entire AI lifecycle.
• Publicly available documentation of ethical practices in AI and an open discourse encourages various AI stakeholders to hold users and developers accountable in the absence of regulation and prosecution.

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Education

Educating potential victims of bluewashing—such as the public, executives, politicians, and lawmakers—on the technological basics, risks, and ethics of AI empowers them to identify and challenge bluewashing.

Overall, nurturing strong AI literacy among society and stakeholders promotes transparency and accountability, while enabling informed public discussions on AI ethics and regulation as the technology evolves.

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In a Nutshell

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Bluewashing is a malpractice where AI companies present themselves as more ethically responsible than they are, using hollow ethical commitments as mere marketing tools without concrete action. As ethical scrutiny within the AI industry intensifies, some actors may resort to deceptive practices, undermining trust in both their own operations and the industry as a whole, ultimately damaging economic and social justice.  

AI has immense potential to drive meaningful advancements, such as improving the accuracy of medical diagnoses and climate models. However, as we increasingly rely on AI in decision-making processes that shape access to essential services and influence daily life, it is crucial to uphold the highest standards of security, fairness, and ethics. Only then can we ensure that AI benefits society equitably, respects individual rights, and minimises risks to public well-being.  

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Ethical, Trustworthy, and Compliant AI with oxethica

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Ethical AI is not just about words—it’s about actions. Implementing ethical principles at every stage of the AI lifecycle is essential to ensure that AI systems are trustworthy and do not harm society.

At oxethica we are committed to making ethical, trustworthy, and compliant AI both accessible and straightforward. Visit our website to learn how our solutions can help you achieve compliance, uphold ethical AI governance, and avoid inadvertently engaging in bluewashing. We offer a range of tools and services to support you in these efforts, including:

• Online courses in partnership with the University of Oxford
• An AI governance platform
• AI audit and AI inventory management tools
• More AI insights on our blog!

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